Fallen Boundaries of the Old World
by DarkDescent
Summary: Discontinued due to lack of motivation and loss of interest in the series. May be continued in the future, but it needs a complete revamp.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Touhou Project. All copyrights belong to ZUN.

* * *

Nothing lasts forever.

That is simply a given.

Eternity is simply a sham that the hopeless use to please themselves whenever they were suffering.

She knew this, yet she hoped she would never have to do this.

Even the great lord warned her.

Why oh why did she not listen? Great sage or not, she was still a subject to time, and she knew that time was running out.

Unprecedented variables, those scum were the very reason why she had to do this.

Did she miscalculate? Was she ignorant? Did she simply underestimate?

_No. This ultimate fate would have happened regardless of the number years it would take. Now though, I have the knowledge and the power to prevent the end. I will not let everything be in vain. _

"Farewell, Reimu," she whispered.

She manipulated her magic quickly and induced cardiac arrest. She figured it wouldn't hurt her since she was asleep.

In a matter of minutes, Reimu was dead.

* * *

Regardless of how deep a sleeper you were, it was kind of hard though to sleep through the ear-piercing sound of shattered glass. All around Gensokyo, that crash was heard, multiplied fifty fold. Yet, most people would sleep through that. It was only the ones with any magical power that heard the crash.

The elder youkai knew what had happened. They cursed their luck and quickly got up and prepared to go to the Hakurei Shrine. The younger youkai and humans with power heard the sound but had no idea what the whole ordeal was. Some of the youkai ignored it, while the humans sensed the disturbance of power at the Hakurei shrine. They also quickly prepared to go.

Suika Ibuki had it the worse. Given the fact that she was so close to the border, she heard the sound the clearest and immediately sprung up, clutching her ears in pain. Also, since she was living with Reimu, she sensed what had happened immediately. Needless to say, Suika was right at her bedside, just standing there, in shock. Tears were immediate. Just like that, her hostess, one of her friends, gone? Just like that? It was ridiculous.

In a boundary right on the ceiling was Yukari hanging upside down, peering at Reimu. She looked so… carefree now. She finally looked truly relaxed and happy, regardless of what had just happened.

Yukari would have comforted her friend, but there was work to be done. The youkai and humans should have arrived by now. She tucked her head in and closed the boundary. She opened another one so she could step outside of the shrine's entrance. Already there were about fifty or so people, nervously talking to each other, or staring into space.

To gather everyone's attention, Yukari shot a few bubble bullets into the air. They stopped for a second and exploded. Needless to say, she had everyone's attention.

"Greetings," Yukari said, examining each person carefully. Most of them were either angry or confused, wondering what the fuss was about. When no one made a sound, Yukari continued.

"Simply because we lack the time, I will say this bluntly. Reimu is dead."

The younger individuals gasped in unison, appalled at this turn of events. The elder youkai knew already and were not pleased. A certain Yuka Kazami was the first one to speak.

"Tch, she's dead. Yeah. Regardless of what annoyance she has wrought to the past before for us, it still does nothing to the fact that she is dead. Or perhaps, murdered? You do realize the damage you have wrought to the balance of nature, yes?"

Yukari smiled. "Obviously, you would implicate me, as I was one of the first people to receive information of this incident. However, if our miracle pharmacist would come examine the body, then all charges will be dropped."

That certain miracle pharmacist stepped through the crowd. "It will only take a minute to confirm the truth. Please wait," Eirin announced, as she walked inside the shrine.

The crowd was starting to nervously talk again when Yukari shot a few more exploding bullets.

"I believe I was not finished," she said, slightly annoyed at the lack of focus. "At any rate, regardless of how Reimu has perished, it changes nothing. Reimu is dead. With the last Hakurei gone, the border between the outside world and Gensokyo has disappeared. That sound of shattered glass you heard earlier would be the sound of the boundary that has collapsed."

"Now, given the greedy nature of humans," Yukari said, smirking at the wince of a certain ordinary magician, "it would not be foolhardy to believe that the outsider humans will attempt to take Gensokyo for themselves, for whatever reason they want. Money, self gain, luxury, it doesn't matter. They will come in and attempt to take Gensokyo, by force if necessary. Now, if all of you would hold out your hands."

Eirin had come out of the shrine by now, and as with everyone else in the vicinity, complied with Yukari's instructions. In each hand, a Ying-Yang orb was now resting in their palms.

"These are communication devices and signals of danger," Yukari explained. "If something big was to happen, or if you simply get separated, use these. Do keep in mind that everyone can hear what happens if you communicate through these, so do not engage in personal conversation. Ah, yes, Eirin. What would the circumstances of Reimu's unfortunate demise be?"

Eirin glared at Yukari, infuriated that she took this so lightly. At least, she thought Yukari took this lightly. "It was a natural death. Cardiac arrest." She still was suspicious though, and decided she would check back in a couple days.

Most of the people had their suspicions alleviated. Some of the elder youkai still had some harbored feelings of curiosity. Those feelings would be dealt with later though.

"Now, before I dismiss you all," Yukari stated, "if you are not comfortable with your strength, then hide. The carnage that will ensue will not guarantee survivors. For the stronger individuals, well… the decision is up to you. Protect Gensokyo. To each her own." Yukari bowed, drawing some curious looks.

Yukari opened a gap and disappeared. However, she had one last thing to say. Opening another gap, her head simply appeared upside down, addressing her final point. "I almost forgot. Pay attention to this last point. Whatever you do, if possible, NEVER use magic." Most people were confused at this as well, but a few of the elder youkai understood. "Now, farewell!"

Yukari finally disappeared for good, leaving the crowd to their own deeds. Mostly stunned, they all decided to pay their proper respects to Reimu before deciding what to do.

Slowly, the shrine's visitors dissipated until two people were left. Suika Ibuki was standing outside with Yuka Kazami, the latter just staring into the sky.

"Why are you still here?" Suika asked, still a bit miffed about Reimu.

"Do not worry about me," Yuka replied. Shrugging, Suika went back into the shrine, going to sleep.

Yuka's face was dark. She knew exactly what has happening. Yet, she had no fore knowledge of the event! That was simply infuriating.

"Yakumo, you play a very dangerous game here," Yuka muttered, twirling her parasol. "If this ends well, if it even ends well at all, I will kill you."

"Two weeks at most… two weeks."

Taking one last look at the shrine, Yuka took into the air, heading back to her garden.

"And so, it begins."

* * *

Author's note: I feel that this re-edit is far better than the original prologue. It simply sets the mood up far better. I also feel like the characters are portrayed better.

Constructive criticism would be very much appreciated.


	2. The Stage is Set

Disclaimer: I do not own the Touhou Project. All copyright belongs to ZUN.

* * *

She knew it wasn't her place, but she just had to satisfy her curiosity.

Ran had noticed a huge shift in the ways that Yukari carried out her everyday activities. Instead of the idleness and lethargic behavior she normally demonstrated, Yukari was actually awake and alert. Ever since the Gods showed up in Gensokyo, Yukari's sleeping time actually diminished for once. Muttering to herself, shutting herself off from the few close friends she had, she simply ignored everyone, spouting out elaborate mathematical formulas and solutions. Calculating. Planning something...

What was even stranger to Ran was the fact that Yukari actually didn't sleep for over twenty-four hours just before Reimu's death. Whatever she was planning, she decided to execute that day. Normally, Yukari would get Ran to fulfill every single duty Yukari thought necessary. That day though, she didn't even acknowledge her.

She had to ask now. They were about to leave to some unknown place, where she knew Yukari would pull the strings. All the belongings were stashed into the special luggage bag Yukari enchanted.

"Hurry up! We simply do not have the time to slack off!"

Another unusual statement coming from Yukari.

Ran sighed, and walked down the hall way, the sound of wooden boards creaking echoing along the hallway. She turned at a bend into the entrance room. It was currently just an unremarkable rectangular room, as all the decorations and furniture were stashed in the bag at the moment.

Yukari was waiting, with Chen standing beside her. For once, Yukari wasn't carrying her parasol with her. Chen, utterly confused, was looking fairly annoyed at both Ran and Yukari for waking her up so suddenly. Yukari was ignoring Chen and simply nodded at Ran. Yukari's face had a look of concern and seriousness that Ran hadn't seen since the fight for her freedom so long ago…

Yukari nodded to Ran. Ran duly acknowledged the nod and proceeded to the boundary that was just opened by Yukari. Before she went in though, she risked a question. "Yukari-sama, why did you not inform me of your plans? Why did you proceed with your plans by yourself, when you could have just instructed me to execute whatever you wanted?"

Yukari paused and turned around. "Just trust me. I'm also ordering you not to question me about this. I will explain when the time is right." Yukari replied and then proceeded to offer her right hand to Ran so she could safely travel inside the world of boundaries. Yukari extended her other hand to Chen, which Chen quickly grabbed it. Ran gulped and stifled her curiosity. She knew better than to have any doubts about Yukari. She was almost always right. Almost…

Ran touched Yukari's hand. Yukari simply looked away and went forward with her Shikigamis following. "The Yakumo house will be reoccupied after this is all over," Yukari told her Shikigamis as they disappeared into the world of boundaries. _If this incident ever does end that is… _

With that, the boundary closed on itself.

* * *

Truth be told, she didn't really want to leave at first. Marisa was far too in touch with her home to want to leave anytime soon. That, and she had way too many things to carry. Especially books. So it took Rinnosuke a lot of persuading before Marisa would leave.

"That sure was a low blow though…", Marisa sighed, as she packed the things most precious to her. Marisa wasn't really one to be persuaded easily, but she did owe a lot to Rinnosuke for taking her in after she ran away from her family. Still, leaving with him as a favor for all the care he gave her was definitely something she had to do. "Underhanded and weak though…"

She had another person that she owed major thanks to, but that particular person disappeared ten years ago. And now, Reimu was gone…. Marisa shook herself. Now wasn't the time to mope around. She estimated that she only had about an hour left before sunrise. With her Mini-Hakkero reactor in her bag, Marisa grabbed her broom and went outside through the clutter of a mess her home was. With her bag secured, she was about to take off when she saw a certain blonde-haired girl standing in the garden, looking at her. Said girl noticed that Marisa knew she was there, and quickly walked over.

"Greetings Marisa," said Alice, stopping about a foot away from Marisa.

"Oi Alice! What are you doing here, ze! I thought you were going to Makai."

"I am. I have one last thing I have to do before I go. Speaking of which…" Alice paused for a second. "You still have the dolls from the geyser incident?"

"Of course!" Marisa replied. "Why the heck would you want those dolls right now, ze?"

"I don't want them. I want you to take them with you wherever you go." Marisa cocked an eyebrow at her. Alice quickly explained to her why. "Simply put, we can still talk through those dolls wherever you go. If you're ever in danger, you know who to call." Alice smiled, looking down at the ground for a bit. "I'd still love to talk to you you know."

Marisa was startled for a second but quickly smiled back. "Uhh… yeah, same. Thanks. Just how will you even manage to get to me if I ever do get in trouble? Besides, I can take care of myself, ze!"

Alice was suddenly serious again. "Okay, that's enough time wasted. We have to go now." She looked at Marisa and smiled again. "Talk to you soon." She then quickly took off again, heading back towards the direction of the Hakurei shrine.

Marisa was just dumbfounded. Alice didn't even explain to her how she would be able to help her. Scratching her head, she took off to Kourindou's.

"Is she always that bipolar?"

* * *

"Crap, there isn't much time left!"

Alice quickly accelerated to the mountain behind Hakurei Shrine. As she looked below at the shrine, she wondered just what kind of insidious beast would even think about murdering Reimu. Even the youngest and most mentally challenged of youkai understood that if anything happened to Reimu, it would only spell disaster for Gensokyo.

"No time to dawdle!" Alice shouted to no one in particular. She had reached the mountain and had landed where she thought she had to go.

"Strange… the entrance was here the last I came out." _Then again, it's been ten years since I ran away from home…_

She remembered that day far too well…

_I was too powerless that day. In my rage, not only did I change myself forever, I also ruined the relationship with the only person who cared for me back then…_

Alice felt tears on her face, which she quickly wiped away. _If I don't go now, I'll never be able to help her anymore!_

The entrance that Alice was looking for definitely wasn't there, so Alice took to the skies again and quickly circled the mountain. The entrance she was looking for was shaped liked the crescent moon. Frustrated, she slowed down a bit and observed the surroundings more carefully. Alice carefully gazed up and down the mountain, looking for any indicative sign of what she was looking for, until…

"There it is!" Right on the tree line was a peculiar shaped hole, shaped like the crescent moon. Alice touched down right at the entrance. She was running in when she crashed into an invisible barrier. Alice quickly crumpled.

"Ow! What the hell?" Alice cursed, looking up in time to see the fading ripples of blue fade away into nothingness. Alice brushed herself and picked herself up. She reached her hand out to determine the power and characteristics of the barrier. Her hand was met with blue sparks from the barrier, which seemed a little unstable, as surges of energy trickled throughout the barrier, some parts seeming more dense than others. Perhaps the spell was rushed given the current circumstances?

Alice closed her eyes and let her natural magical power do the work. She didn't even need her Grimoire for this. Her hand began to glow red, which began the siphoning of the energy in the barrier. The sparks slowly disappeared, as they went into her body. Alice started to feel discomfort, as she forgot the complication of demonic magic compared to human and youkai magic. With a quick muttering of a spell, the excess energy moved to the only other thing that had demonic nature to it, her Grimoire. Within ten seconds, the barrier disappeared, and the Grimoire was glowing blue, as it absorbed the power of the demons.

"Tch, a waste of time. There's no point casting a protection spell unless you take the time to reinforce it," Alice remarked.

Alice quickly walked in. There was no more time to lose.

The cave wasn't really a cave. It was only a simple chamber with a dried up fountain in the middle. The only remarkable object in the room was a floating blue orb, floating above the fountain, beckoning Alice.

Alice touched the orb and waited. She waited. She waited for what felt like an eternity, until finally, the orb glowed a brilliantly deep blue. At once, Alice was swept away, the surroundings morphing and changing. The orb would normally lead Alice to the outskirts of Makai, where she would have to fly all the to Pandemonium, the capital of Makai, herself. However, Alice willed for the orb to lead her directly to Pandemonium. The orb, seeming to hear her wish, glowed even more deeply, and whisked Alice through Makai. Alice winced, as she forgot how it felt to travel through Makai quickly. The scenery below whisked by, from a dark red lake, to a flowery hill. Alice sighed, as she remembered meeting Reimu and Marisa there. That meeting was far from pleasant though.

The scene changed once again until they finally stopped and solidified. Alice was standing at a blue tiled bridge, leading to the towering city of blue. The orb glowed blue once more, and vanished, leaving Alice to her own duties. Alice took off into the air, above the city walls. What she saw pleasantly surprised her.

The city was far more beautiful than what she remembered. Towering buildings of blue dominated the skyline, with a fortress with magnificent walls and spires over shadowed the rest of the city. The whole city itself was built with ice blue material, with an artificial moon shining above, giving the metropolis a feel of a winter wonder land.

Alice decided that she would go sight-seeing after she had finished with her duties first. She quickly flew over to the fortress. Below ground, demons and magicians looked at the sky curiously for a second, but returned to their everyday activities shortly after.

It took a couple minutes of flying at her fastest speed before she reached the fortress. Not wanting to deal with any of the guards, or in particular, Yumeko, Alice flew to the top of the fortress, where Shinki's private chambers awaited. A balcony, with stained glass windows was where Alice landed. Quickly making sure that she didn't attract any unnecessary attention, Alice walked inside.

For a private chamber, it was rather large. Grand pillars supported the ceiling, with blue tiles reflecting the illumination of the moon coming in from the glass ceilings, lighting the room up. Standing in the middle of the room, about ten feet away from Alice, was a woman dressed in red robes, turned around so her face wasn't visible. Her white hair was further brightened from the moonlight.

"It seems wishes do come true," the woman in red exclaimed. She turned to face Alice with a serene smile on her face. "Welcome home."

Alice was extremely surprised. The smile on the woman's face was not the look of anger, or even anxiety that Alice was expecting. Instead, it was the old smile she gave Alice when she was only a little girl.

"Well, what are you waiting for?! Come and give me a hug!" the woman shouted, walking to Alice, her arms wide.

Alice was going to run into her arms, but she just remembered what she had to fulfill. "Shinki…mother, I'm afraid we must skip the formalities of mother and daughter. You know of what happened in Gensokyo, right?"

Shinki's blue eyes darkened. She dropped her arms and stopped walking, about a foot away from Alice now. "Yes, I'm aware. That's why I ordered a barrier to be raised at the entrance and relieved Sara of her duties. It seems that a certain someone broke through that barrier though!" Shinki laughed, trying to lighten up the mood a bit.

"In all due respect, it was a pathetic barrier that any novice could accomplish in their first day of training. I had to get in quickly though…mother, the point I'm trying to make is that the shrine maiden is dead. Gensokyo will most likely be threatened by the humans of outside. Some could find there…"

"That's enough Alice," Shinki interrupted promptly. Alice stopped, curious. "Of course I know that the shrine maiden is dead. I know a person in Gensokyo who told me about this." Shinki wisely left out the identity of that exact person. "I had one of my magicians put the barrier up just in case anything happened."

Alice was skeptical, but decided to keep her opinion of the current matters to herself. "Then with the barrier down…" Alice looked down in guilt. She didn't have to do anything. Yet she tried helping and managed to somehow make the situation worse.

"Don't worry! I've already had another magician reform the seal." Shinki then proceeded to promptly hug Alice. "I've been so worried you know! You've grown so much! Why didn't you tell me where you were going?! Why didn't you visit before? Why didn't you write to me? Did you find someone you like? Who are your new friends?"

There was huge suspicion in her heart, and fear of explaining everything, but all of that didn't matter right now. Alice found herself crying and didn't bother holding herself back this time. For the first time in so long, Alice had a mother again.

* * *

"I trust you have mobilized this so called army of yours, Prime Minister?"

Prime Minister Atsutane Hideyoshi was staring out into the city of Tokyo from his office building, not happy at all that this woman in his office was threatening him to comply with her demands. She had appeared a few months prior to inform him of this ridiculous scheme of hers. She had demonstrated her power to him, which smashed any doubts he had. Still, this was not something he could do without completely undermining the constitution of Japan. Something that would very easily anger the public. Particularly the video gaming public, which was massive…

"Yes, I have. Do you not give warning to anyone about any of your plans however?" Atsutane stated.

Yukari was also discontent. The fact that she had to rely on humans to execute her plans was also annoying.

"Only to those I hold in high regard, do I inform them of my actions," Yukari replied. "I trust that the media has also been taken care of?"

"Yes, yes, yes. The media has been taken care of. The army is in place to prevent any civilians from entering Gensokyo. The police have also been rounded on high alert to prevent any of your demons from harming civilians." Atsutane sighed. "What is your purpose in all of this though? I cannot expect that the public will accept this without a thorough explanation however." _Not like I have a choice anymore if what this woman claims is true. _It was all truth these past few months.

Yukari was slightly more annoyed than before. The so called great humans, the leaders of their people, were no less dim witted and oblivious than the general public. Still, if her plan was to succeed, she had no other choice but to rely on this human. "Did I not tell you of the benefits this will bring to your people? Do you not understand the revolutionary technology this could bring to not only your country, but to the whole world? You will be regarded as a scholar, a hero, and whatever else you would like to call yourself."

Atsutane was silent. He had already heard of all of these. He did not want absolute glory though. He only wished for the well being of his people. _Still, a little praise wouldn't hurt along the way…_

"This brings me to my next point," Yukari stated. She walked around the lavish room and sat down in a comfortable black leather chair. "I know that Japan is a leader in technological development. Because of this, I require you to select your finest technology professor and your most brilliant building designer to Gensokyo. I also desire a chef to be brought along as well. For now, these, along with the other requirements I laid out in the beginning, are my only expectations of you for now."

Atsutane relaxed. For once, these requests were easy to fulfill. "Very well. You can expect them to arrive by this afternoon."

"Very good." Yukari opened a gap right under here and fell, disappearing into it. Before she left though, she couldn't resist a jibe. "Do remember. Your country will not live to see another day if you fail me. Tata, Mr. Seat of Power!" Japan itself was threatened either way, but because Gensokyo was contiguous with Japan, Yukari would make sure that nothing would ever befall it. She didn't inform the Prime Minister though. After all, knowledge is power.

The press that day would report to have a rarely angry Prime Minister swearing through the whole parliamentary building.

* * *

Author's note: Most of the main players make their appearance in this chapter.  
This chapter was unorganized and had too much information jumbled in a single chapter, so I edited it accordingly.  
A fictional prime minister, given the guidelines the site has.

Constructive criticism would be very much appreciated.


	3. Hakurei

Disclaimer: I do not own the Touhou Project. All copyright belongs to ZUN.

* * *

Gensokyo's Hell had an extremely bad reputation. Heck, for most people living there, it wasn't even "hell" to them at all.

Hell was essentially exactly like Gensokyo, except for the crimson skies and the dead vegetation scattered around the place. In short, a lifeless Gensokyo.

The reason Hell was not as bad as it once was was because of the entry way to Makai that was opened, with the reluctant approval of the Emma. Tourism has in light brought magic and protectors to Hell, where the protectors can teach the inhabitants self-defense. While the majority of the population in Hell were unable to protect themselves, there were enough guardians that the demons of Hell were no longer a true threat to the peace and prosperity of Hell. In fact, several incidents have been wrought along in Hell, with enough people committing enough selfless deeds to warrant the pardon of the Emma to certain individuals, but that's another story.

A figure in red robes and gray sleeves was busy sweeping Silent Shrine, Hell's parallel to the Hakurei Shrine. For the umpteenth time, the shrine maiden sighed. Being on the job for over a thousand years could be very tiring. At least she had many more breaks these past couple hundred years, as the number of souls coming down dramatically decreased in number. _Still, they could at least liven up the scenery a bit, or let me up to the surface for a day... _

A couple of ravens cawed from above, flying through the sky in unison, passing overhead the shrine. The shrine maiden knew what this meant, and felt indifferent. While it was good that another soul was coming so she wouldn't be as bored, it also meant more work for her. Walking into the shrine, the shrine maiden prepared a futon for the newcomer. She heard a light thud, which meant that the newcomer had arrived. She began walking out of the shrine to be treated to profanity from the newcomer.

"....I'll tear your face apart! I'll destroy you, mutilate you! I'll make you my personal slave and force you to clean my shrine everyday! No breaks! A MAID UNIFORM! You'll collect donations for me, and then I'll kill you! I'LL KILL YOU! YOU SON OF A -"

The shrine maiden had a good idea just to who the recipient of those treats were meant to be for, and had a really good time imagining said person doing all those tasks and proceeded to laugh rather audibly, standing at the shrine's steps. She folded her arms and had quite a good chuckle, which drew the venomous glare of the newcomer. The newcomer then noticed her surroundings which further proceeded to anger her more. The newcomer's eye twitched at the laughing shrine maiden. She pulled out a paper seal from her robes, and flung it at the laughing Miko. Said Miko didn't notice this at all and got nailed directly in the head, crumpling immediately..

"Ow..." the Miko said, pulling herself up, rubbing her head. "What was that for?!"

The newcomer didn't bother replying, instead opting to taking out her Gohei stick, walking to the the Miko, tapping the Gohei stick on her left hand like one would with a baseball bat. The shrine maiden took a look at the stick and remembered a phantom tinge of pain in her chest from fifteen years hence. Her mistake was pondering on this fact as not a second later, the newcomer was clubbing Reimu with her Gohei stick. The surprised shrine maiden fell to the floor once again, covering her head.

"Hey, stop already! Ow!"

This proceeded for around a minute or so, much to the shrine maiden's displeasure, until she was finally annoyed. She disappeared and in a flash, was behind the newcomer, a sword held to the newcomer's throat. "Didn't I tell you to stop?" the shrine maiden said, her voice a lot more serious now. The newcomer seemed to finally come to her senses and calmed down.

"If you're done raging, I would like to associate your face with a name," the shrine maiden stated, slacking her grip on the newcomer, dropping her sword. The sword turned to mist and the particles spread through the air.

The newcomer turned around. "Reimu Hakurei," she said bluntly.

This merely confirmed what she already knew, but she had to make sure. That boundary youkai could leave out a lot of details from time to time, but at least she wasn't lying about this.

"I see," the shrine maiden muttered.

"Now would you like to explain to me what the hell is happening?!" Reimu shouted, her anger peaking up again. Before she said anything else though, she noticed a spike thoroughly lodged into the shrine maiden's forehead. Said shrine maiden noticed and walked into the shrine.

"Ignore that," she called out from inside. "If you want to come inside, I suggest that you calm down before you break anything. I'll forcibly remove you if you do."

Reimu was unaccustomed to serious threats, but she shrugged it off. Besides, she wasn't going to get anywhere if she just beat down this insolent maiden. Sighing, Reimu walked down the steps and laid down on the floor, deciding to take a quick power nap. The trips between dimensions was a tiring one. That, and clubbing people wasn't exactly like taking a stroll either. She quickly dosed off.

The sleeping girl didn't notice the shrine maiden watch that tiny ordeal. She simply smiled and walked back into the shrine.

"Truly a Hakurei. She reminds me of me when I was alive...," the shrine maiden laughed. "I only hope you're ready for what lays ahead though."

* * *

_"Are you certain though? Are you absolutely sure that this realm of yours is very capable of handling the huge influx of energy that will become present as this incident occurs?"_

_"Yes, Yukari. I think that I have some knowledge of the capabilities of the realm I created. What good is it to create a world only to have it collapse under your own power?"_

_"I see. I hope you do understand this extremely important role you have in ensuring our safety."_

_"Why else would you come to me then, if you believed that I was too incompetent to handle these circumstances? You warned me of this when we first created the barrier. Why would I not be prepared now?"_

_Yukari laughed. It was good to have a friend that had knowledge to match hers. She stared out into the ice field. Truly beautiful. She hoped she could visit again just for sight seeing after this was taken care of._

_"The plan is about to proceed. Be prepared. Starting tomorrow, a new chapter in history will begin."_

_Nodding to Yukari, she had one last thing to tell her before she left. _

_"Yukari, I must warn you of one thing though," she sighed. "Humans are a completely unreliable variable. They are unpredictable, and uncontrollable for the most part. Be prepared to deal with the consequences if something does go wrong."_

_Yukari nodded. She did after all, had a friend who was once human._

_Yukari opened a boundary. Before she disappeared, Yukari told the woman one last thing._

_"These are the last few hours before this all begins. SOOOO.....make a wish."_

_

* * *

_

The shrine maiden was watching Reimu, in case any demons had any unwise ideas. At the same time though, she felt kind of guilty watching her. After all, she was sleep talking, and judging from the words she was spouting, she seemed to have a very unpleasant life on the surface. Sitting on the steps, the shrine maiden looked up at the crimson sky. Jigoku was fun to take care of and all, and the Emma did assign her this job only because she signed up for it, but still, a day of freedom wouldn't hurt. It would be very interesting as well to see what kind of life Reimu lived and why exactly she was saying "mother", "youkai", and "help me" repeatedly. After all, Reimu was her-

"I see she made it down here safely," a voice called, right beside the shrine maiden.

The shrine maiden did not make a single move. After all, constant meetings with this youkai a few months previous has left her rather impervious to her behavior of appearing when one least expected it.

"Yes, she has," the shrine maiden agreed.

"Tell me Konngara, when do you expect her to be ready? You know we only have a maximum of two weeks to completely execute this right?

"I'm aware, Yukari. I can expect her to be completely prepared in a week."

"Very good."

"...say, Yukari..." Konngara began, reluctant to ask the thing nagging on her mind. However, Yukari was already gone. Konngara sighed. She didn't even say goodbye! What manners! Elder youkai were supposed to be the most polite too. She did notice, however, a book where Yukari was a second ago. It had a Yin-Yang orb as the picture and was entitled, _The History of the Hakurei Priests and Maidens_. On top of the cover was a note left by Yukari. Konngara promptly read it.

_"You are already aware of what happens to the Hakurei's when they pass on, as you oversee the process. However, I need you to read the fifth biography and the last one about Reimu. Just the last bit for for the fifth biography and the first bit for the last one. You will understand why._

_Yukari Yakumo"_

Reimu was still sleeping, and she didn't sense any danger around, so Konngara opened the book. She hadn't read in so long, so this was rather enlightening for her. Skimming through the pages, she found the third article and cocked an eyebrow when she read the name, and the information she wanted.

_Interesting. No wonder why she has that power. Also explains why she's so powerful. Still, that's really creepy though._

Finding what she wanted, she turned the pages to the last part of the book.

"Page 912...ah, Reimu Hakurei!"

Konngara read the first part about her and couldn't help but sympathize.

_I guess I predicted the reason correctly, but still, growing up after losing your only parent is just harsh. Especially if you saw what happened... _

This also explained why Reimu was surprisingly bitter for a child when she came down here fifteen years ago. She guessed that she could forgive Reimu now. Even though she was holding back, she was kind of mad that she had to clean Hell up after the carnage that insued.

Konngara noticed that Reimu was stirring. She quickly ran inside the shrine and hid the book in a shelf in the small living room. No reason to discourage Reimu now that the delicate part of the plan had begun.

Quickly running back out to the steps, Konngara stopped there, and decided to let Reimu come to her.

Apart from the danger of all of this, and the importance that Reimu's decisions were the way Gensokyo needed them, Konngara was having fun indeed.

_It's been a long time since being on duty actually involved drama like this. I can't wait to see what happens._

Konngara grinned. She was ready for anything.

Almost.

* * *

Author's note: This chapter is shorter than the last one. However, if I added anymore, it would be more like filler, not actual plot related scenarios.

As always, constructive criticism will be very much appreciated.


End file.
